The Tales of Brooke
by Elven Fire 66
Summary: A story about a girl and her adventures.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

_Discovery_

The archer released its arrow, a clean kill. They stood up from their hiding place and quickly looked around then ran to the deer that now lay motionless in the clearing. The cloaked figure quickly drew a hunting knife from their pocket.

"Halt!" Someone shouted from behind a tree.

Their cloaked head looked up showing only blue eyes, and then stood.

"Don't move."

_Gee that always works doesn't it? _They thought smirking Then shot off dodging trees making sure that the person following had a hard time catching up but making sure their hood never fell.

Two men popped up in front of it blocking the way. They turned, more men. The men all began to close in.

The archer drew an arrow from the quiver on its back aiming at the closest one. They stopped then two from behind moved forward, quickly grabbing its arms. They thrashed and kicked making sure not to say a word or utter a sound.

A man, apparently the sheriff, stepped forward making a motion to remove its hood. It kicked him in the shin.

He glared, "You should respect your elders, boy." He said removing the hood showing a girl with waist length red hair tied in a braid.

"Girl," She said through clenched teeth.

The sheriff looked at her disbelievingly then, "HA HA you've got to be kidding me this is the thief that has eluded us for so long, a mere child, and a girl no less. She is not the one release her." He said taking a few steps back.

She glared at him, "Wait, are you quite sure I am not the thief? You wouldn't want to make a mistake."

"Please, no girl could ever escape this team."

"Are you willing to bet your life on it?" She said picking up her fallen bow and fitting the arrow back into it.

"Of course,"

"Okay then." She said raising the bow to his shoulder and releasing.

The men around her stood with stunned looks on their faces.

"Don't stand there idiots, get her." The sheriff gasped.

"Now John," She shouted a rope was lowered down and she quickly grabbed hold. "So long gentle men. I hope I don't meet thee again." She began to climb with John on the other end pulling.

"You know Brooke I'm not always going to be around to get you out of these situations." He said reaching the branch he was standing on.

"I know that's why didn't tell you about the times I going hunting alone." She said removing the cloak.

"You've been hunting without me."

"Yep," They hopped from branch to branch taking care now to make as little noise as possible. When they had reached the far end of the forest they climbed down to the ground.

Brooke then walked a little ways back into the trees and changed out of her boy's clothes and into the normal dress she wore.

"You know what I hate other than not being able to retrieve that deer?"

"What?" John asked.

"Having to wear this stupid dress." She said holding up the skirt as she stepped over a log.

"It can't be that bad."

John and Brooke were both eighteen and had known each other for sixteen of the eighteen years. John had blonde hair and grey eyes he stood taller then most of the boys in their town. And Luna was stronger than all of the girls and some of the boys.

"Brooke I need to tell you something."

"Hmm,"

"It's about this summer."

Brooke stopped and looked at him.

"I'm leaving for the battlefield. I start training in June."

Brooke's eye's started to tear. "What?"

"I won't see you for a couple of years. But I will be back as soon as possible."

They had just come to the edge of town where they lived.

The hurt in Luna's heart was too much. She ran, she didn't care about her dress she didn't care if the boys of the village saw her tears. She ran by the little girls who were outside enjoying the sunlight. She wished she was one of those girls.

Much later after running a distance of approximately a mile we find Brooke sitting under the shad of a large oak tree, having a conversation with her inner self.

_Leaving? He can't leave. We've been together for sixteen years._

He can leave. He has a choice. Not that I do. Women don't have any-

_But you do. You can join the army with him._

What if I'm caught then I would be killed.

_What if you weren't?_

I could just stay here and see him in a couple years.

_And if he dies?_

Then I will…

_Exactly you don't know what you would do._

The conversation lasted almost all day and continued in this fashion. Finally seeing that it was getting dark she began her walk home.

When she arrived she found that supper had been served a long time ago. So she went straight to her loft bedroom and sat down on her bed, shortly after her brother came in.

"Go away Damon."

"It's my room too."

She got up and went back down the ladder.

Damon was two years younger than Brooke and had a head full of messy red hair. Despite their age difference Damon and Brooke had similar sized bodies and people who didn't know them would think them twins.

She grabbed a spare blanket and tiptoed to the door.

"Brooke?"

"Yeah, mom?"

"You can't go out at night. There's a new curfew for the entire town."

Brooke put the blanket back went back to the loft where she found Damon picking through the stuff in her pack.

"HEY! Get out of there."

"Why?"

"Because it's my stuff."

"Your point."

She glared at him and snatched it from him, heading for the window.

"Where are you going?"

"To visit John." She lied.

"You're not allowed out, only men like me." He said pointing at his chest.

She couldn't help but laugh. "Please, you a man, you were bested by a six year old last week."

"She kicked me in the shin."

"Yeah and you hopped around the rest of the day hoping to get Melody's attention.

He blushed uncontrollably.

"Anyways, if you tell mom you'll just be telling her how you managed to get that new bridal for Becker the mule."

"You wouldn't."

"I would."

"You can't

"I can do what ever I please."

With that she climbed out the window and onto the roof then pulled her cloak out of the bag. Once the hood was securely over her head she strapped the quiver of arrows to her back and pulled out the bow that she was so fond of, then climbed down to ground level.

She wasn't really going to John's, she had decided that she was going to camp out up in the oak tree outside town. She had done this countless times before with John but this time she would do it alone. She kept to the shadows making sure that if anyone looked out their window then all they would see was the night.

I guess it's a good thing that John is leaving; he's going to protect his family.

_Are you kidding? He's probably leaving so he can get away from here._

No he wouldn't leave for that reason; he loves it here.

_Or maybe he was lying to you, maybe he was going to meet someone or maybe he is part of a gang of moon shiners?_

Moon shiners? Please, he's just going to war like all of the other men. Damon will be leaving soon too.

Brooke tripped over a tree root and landed on the ground with a hollow thud.

She got up and stomped lightly on the ground then in another area to the left of the spot. The sounds were different, one sounding hard the other sounding hollow.

She jumped on the spot several times. Then climbed onto a branch of the tree and dropped her bag on the spot.

"Well that didn't work." She thought to herself while jumping down.

There was a loud crash and she fell through a large hole that had formed when she landed. When she was in the hole and on her feet she looked around. She saw that it wasn't just a hole but a tunnel that seemed to stretch in two directions one towards town and the other towards the tree.

"If only my bag had fallen too. Then I would be able to see a little better." As if on cue her bag fell down landing on her head along with some loose dirt.

She pulled out a small candle and some matches. When she could see somewhat better she could tell the tunnel had been there a long time. The timbers holding up the tunnel were good and solid but covered with a thick layer of moss. She turned towards the tunnel going to the tree and followed it.

The tunnel wasn't very long and sloped upward this way but she went as far as she could and stopped in a small room, or at least it looked like a room.

It was considerably wider than the tunnel and seemed to have four walls and a door. There were a couple of old crates scattered around the room, but what caught her eye was a large trunk in the corner.

She examined the trunks outer appearance before checking the latch; locked, but very rusty. She knocked on the top of the chest; the latch fell open.

"That was weird." She thought lifting the lid. She smiled broadly, inside were old books and maps.

"The best treasure in the world, knowledge." She whispered to herself lifting out a leather bound book. She quickly flipped through the pages and noticed that it had been a journal. She looked at the name gilded on the back:

Property of

Joan C. White

Brooke put the book into her bag and continued her search through the trunk. About an hour later she noticed her candle was nearly burned out. She looked at the books and maps scattered about her, then at the trunk that was nearly empty.

"I'll just finish looking through the trunk then I'll head home I guess." She said lifting the last few documents out. Her knuckles hit the base of the trunk hearing a jingle she tapped it again.

She felt the edges of the trunk first on the outside then the inside. She gripped a piece of cloth and pulled; the floor of the trunk moved upward and revealed a false bottom. She couldn't see the bottom clearly so she held the candle above the trunk and when she saw what was in the trunk she nearly dropped the candle.

Inside, among many gold coins, were a bejeweled sword and a mail shirt. She quickly lifted out the sword and removed the sheath. WHITE was stamped neatly into the blade.

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	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_Plans_

John woke up to the sound of tapping on the window. He sat up and looked out the window.

"Brooke, what time is it? Why are you tapping on the window? Just use the door."

"Let's see, it's about three in the morning, so that also answers the second question." She said quickly climbing through the window. "Man, you are a hard sleeper. I stood out there for ten minutes."

John just then remembered that his room was on the second floor and stuck his head out the window to look down.

"How did you get up here?"

"I climbed, look at what I found." She pulled out the sword and mail.

John looked at them, then turned an accusing stare towards Brooke, "Found or stole?"

"Found, I'll show you what else I found later but I need to get home before my parents find out I'm gone."

Brooke was out the window and climbing down before John had even said good-bye.

Brooke climbed up onto the roof outside her window. She took off the cloak and hid the bow and quiver. Then climbed through the window, her brother was snoring loudly as usual.

She climbed onto her bed and stared at the ceiling.

Sleep never came when one of the towns' roosters crowed a wake up call. She had stayed up thinking about the tunnel and what she had found, along with the sword and mail she had found square hole in the ceiling, meaning that there was a way out of the tunnel other than the one she had made.

Ten minutes later her mother stuck her head into the room.

"It's time to do your chores."

Brooke scowled. The chores weren't bad but it was who she had to spend the time listening to. She got up and shooed Damon out of the room while she changed. Then climbed down the ladder and grabbed a basket of dirty laundry and picked up a muffin to eat on the way to the river.

Half way there she saw Joshua, a boy who had sandy hair and green twinkling eyes. She smiled at him before going on.

A little ways down the path to the river she met Matthew. He, though handsome and rich, was snobbish and was determined to have Brooke like him.

"Here Brooke, let me carry that." He said taking hold of the basket.

"I am fully capable of carrying it, Matthew." She said glaring at him.

"Ah, cranky this morning," he said putting an arm around her shoulders, "I can fix that." He said leaning in to kiss her on the cheek.

Brooke ducked and pushed him into the bushes. "Do you really think I'm as stupid as the girls in town?" She said looking down at him.

"On the contrary, you are by far smarter and more beautiful than all the girls in the town." He said smiling.

She rolled her eyes and continued down the path. He quickly stood up and followed.

"Don't you have something else to do?"

"No, my family is the richest family in town. So we don't have to do anything." He said smirking.

Brooke set down the basket and pulled out one of her fathers shirts. Matthew stood behind and watched as she took one article of clothing after another out of the basket then walked up behind her and knocked her off balance.

"Hey!" She said turning around.

Matthew quickly pinned her arms to her side and kissed her.

She kicked him in the shin and he let go of her arms. She knocked him into the stream with a great splash. She grabbed the basket of laundry and ran up the path. She spit and wiped her mouth with her sleeve.

On her way back home she saw John who quickly followed after her.

"So when are you going to show me the "other" stuff."

"When I feel like it." She said angrily.

"What's wrong with you?"

"I saw Matthew."

"So."

Her eye twitched. "Why does he always come after me?"

"He did something bad this time didn't he?"

"You could say that, any other girl would say it was a dream come true."

"Oh, got it."

A plan had been formulating in her head, "Here I'll hang the laundry then take you to see what else I found."

They had reached the house by now and John said good morning to Brooke's mother.

"John, would you come help me inside?"

"Yes ma'am."

Once they were inside she grabbed him by the shoulders and began to shake him.

"Are you or are you not going to ask my daughter to marry you?"

"I'll do it soon, before I leave."

"You'd better or I'll paddle your backside so hard you won't be able to sit down for months."

John made a face and left the house. He watched as Brooke finished then followed when she beckoned for him.

Once Brooke had reached the hole she jumped in without fear but John hesitated.

"Are you sure it's safe in there?"

"If I didn't would I have jumped down."

"Well, no but-." John's foot slipped and he fell on top of Brooke."

Their faces were extremely close and John could feel the blush creeping up his cheeks. But he didn't roll off of her.

"Uh, John,"

"Yeah?"

"You're sort of crushing me."

"Oh, right sorry." He stood then helped Brooke up.

"C'mon." She said dusting herself off as they walked.

When they had reached the room Brooke led him directly to the chest and pulled out one of the maps.

"Before I show you anything else you have to show me the route to the army encampment." She said handing him the map.

He looked at her quizzically and then pointed to the river that started in their tiny valley and traced approximately 200 miles up.

"Long distance isn't it?" She said.

"Yeah, I'm going to need a horse and supplies before I leave."

"I can help with that." She said opening the chest and showing off the treasure within.

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End file.
